Greenville chamber approves plan to move closer to downtown

LAUREN PETRACCA/Staff
Carlos Phillips is the new CEO and president of the Greenville Chamber of Commerce.
Carlos Phillips is the new CEO and president of the Greenville Chamber of Commerce.(Photo: LAUREN PETRACCA/Staff)Buy Photo

The Greenville Chamber of Commerce has approved a plan to sell the organization's aging building on Cleveland Street and pursue a lease on space closer to downtown.

Office space in the 23,000-square-foot building does not suit modern work styles, chamber president Carlos Phillips said Friday, and the structure itself is outdated.

The plan to move, formed by the chamber's facilities committee headed up by US&S CEO Rich Hagins, calls for the chamber to pull up stakes, sell the building on Cleveland Street and pursue a lease in space in or near downtown. The 31-member chamber board voted on the measure last week and has not yet announced a timeline.

"The hard work starts now," Phillips said.

Interest in the plan is already high. This week during an Intercommunity Leadership Visit to Raleigh-Durham — attended by more than 100 Greenville and Spartanburg chamber members — several members asked about the chamber's plans.

The chamber, itself 128 years old, has owned its current home since 1971, according to county property records. It is located on 1.8 acres of prime real estate just east of U.S. 29/Church Street. The partially wooded lot backs up to the Reedy River, and the Swamp Rabbit Trail runs through Cancer Survivors Park, which neighbors the chamber to the south.

Phillips, president of the chamber since March 2016, said his 25-person staff does not need the full 23,000 square feet they now occupy. At present nearly every staff member has a large office. His preference, he said, would be to occupy a space about half as large with smaller offices, shared spaces and more common meeting areas.

Hagins could not be reached for comment Friday afternoon, but Philips said he has been doing a "phenomenal job."